by and large, the federal response has been robust to hurricane sandy. more than 500,000 people have registered for temporary houses and individual assistance, fema, there on the ground right away as provided over 15 million meals, 20 million leaders of water, -- liters of water, 1.7 million blankets and 135,000 tarps. dodd has delivered 9.3 million gasoline and 270 million gallons of salt water have been pumped out of transit tunnels. there have been over 17,000 personnel and 15,000 national gassermen. i want to thank the first responders from every level from fire houses to police stations to volunteers in the neighborhood as well as the national guard from so many states that came to the aid of the northeast. the president innumerous administration officials have been on the ground surveying damage and meeting with state and local leaders. in fact governor cuomo and kristy have been here to the capitol to express their desperate need for help and support. i want to start with some positive statistics, and then go to a few areas that i'm concerned abou